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Adam Back supports rape and theft
by professor rat 25 Jan '23

25 Jan '23

Assange a scoundrel who raped America: Pompeo The former Secretary of State, a likely Republican contender for president in 2024, says he’ll be ‘delighted‘ to see Julian Assange in a US prison. Pompeo has a point since Julian Assange is a known rapist and thief who has a lot of time for Ron and Rand Paul. And it follows with geometric logic that Adam Back supports rape and theft. He supports Assmange! Why does Adam Back hate our cypherpunk freedoms? Back's BFF's Mow, Szabo, Mange, etc are the scum of the earth. And Rape and Theft are a Nazbol's way of doing business.

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A Federal Agency Wants to Hear Directly from the Public about Bad Practices at Credit Card Companies
by Gunnar Larson 25 Jan '23

25 Jan '23

https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/01/a-federal-agency-wants-to-hear-direc… By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: January 25, 2023 ~ Yesterday, the federal watchdog agency – the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) – announced that it wants to hear directly from the public on credit card practices. But since “the public” also includes all of the folks that are paid to carry water for the credit card industry, the voice of the average Joe and Jane is highly likely to be overwhelmed by industry sycophants, as is typically the case. Thus, we are asking our readers to give this matter some careful thought, as we outline below, and if you are so inclined, send your comments to the good folks at the CFPB using this link they have set up. The public has until April 24, 2023 to submit comments but we ask that you do so promptly. Topic 1: The Same Banks that Were Bailed Out by the U.S. Taxpayers in 2008 with Below-Market Rate Loans as Low as Less than Half of One Percent Are Now Charging those Same Taxpayers as High as 13 to 18 Percent (or Higher) on Credit Cards A government audit released in July of 2011 showed that the same mega banks on Wall Street that caused the meltdown of the economy in 2008 and the Great Recession were bailed out with cumulative loans from the Federal Reserve totaling more than $16 trillion. (If you add in the bailout programs not covered by the government audit and the dollars swap lines to foreign central banks, the figure comes to a $29 trillion bailout.) The U.S. taxpayer is ultimately on the hook for the debt of the Federal Reserve, so those loans were, indeed, a subsidy from the taxpayer. A significant part of those Fed loans were made at less than one-half of one percent interest at a time when some of those banks were teetering or insolvent and couldn’t have gotten loans at even double-digit interest rates in the open market. Three of the recipients of those loans – JPMorgan Chase (parent of Chase Bank), Citigroup (parent of Citibank), and Bank of America – just also happen to currently have the largest market share of the credit card market in terms of balances outstanding, according to the 2022 Nilson Report. But these banks are allowed by the U.S. Congress to currently pay as little as 0.01 percent on the money consumers hold in their money market funds at those banks while the same banks charge double-digit interest rates on their credit cards held by consumers. How is the U.S. consumer ever supposed to get ahead? This constitutes an enshrined wealth transfer system that is being institutionalized through inaction by Congress. (Also see our 2021 article: Citigroup Has Made a Sap of the Fed: It’s Borrowing at 0.35 % from the Fed While Charging Struggling Consumers 27.4 % on Credit Cards; and our 2022 article: The Apple Credit Card Provided through Goldman Sachs Has Created a Living Hell According to Consumer Complaints. Topic 2: The U.S. Needs a Federal Cap on Interest Rates Charged on Consumer Credit Cards In 2019, Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced the ‘‘Loan Shark Prevention Act’’ which would have set a Federal cap of 15 percent on interest rates that could be charged to consumers. (Needless to say, it was immediately attacked by the bank lobby and did not pass.) In introducing the new legislation, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez singled out the mega Wall Street banks, writing the following in a white paper they released simultaneously with the proposed legislation: “Today’s modern-day loan sharks are no longer lurking on street corners, threatening violence to collect their payments. Today’s loan sharks wear expensive suits and work on Wall Street, where they make hundreds of millions of dollars in total compensation by charging sky-high fees and usurious interest rates, and head financial institutions like JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, and American Express… “Despite the fact that banks can borrow money today at less than 2.5 percent from the Federal Reserve, the median credit card interest rate today for consumers is an astounding 21.36 percent… “Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, is now worth $1.4 billion after his bank got a taxpayer bailout of more than $400 billion during the financial crisis… “The American people are sick and tired of being ripped off by the same financial institutions that they bailed out ten years ago.” In their white paper, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez also explained how the U.S. ended up with such draconian consumer interest rates. They write: “Establishing a national usury law is not a radical concept. Up until 1978, about half of the states in the country had usury laws on the books capping interest rates on credit cards and other consumer loans. For example, in Alabama, the legal maximum rate of interest was 8 percent. In Alaska it was 10.5 percent. In Arizona it was 10 percent. In Idaho, it was 12 percent. In Kansas, it was 15 percent. In New Mexico it was 15 percent. And, in Vermont, the legal maximum rate of interest was 12 percent. “But, those state interest-rate caps were obliterated by a 1978 Supreme Court decision (Marquette National Bank v. First of Omaha Service Corp), which concluded that national banks could charge whatever interest rate they wanted if they moved to a state without a usury law. So most of these companies moved to South Dakota or Delaware with no interest rate caps, allowing them to charge people in Vermont or Kansas interest rates of 20 or 30 percent. That is unacceptable. Under this plan, the disastrous Marquette Supreme Court decision would be repealed.” As the saying goes, “Democracy is not a spectator sport.” If you want a fairer America, you have to engage. We ask that you consider sending your thoughts on these issues to the CFPB, along with any other credit card complaints that you have. We also ask that you forward this article to others you know who are struggling under the weight of credit card debt at high interest rates. FacebookTwitterWhatsAppLinkedInEmail

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The Apple Credit Card Provided through Goldman Sachs Has Created a Living Hell According to Consumer Complaints
by Gunnar Larson 25 Jan '23

25 Jan '23

https://wallstreetonparade.com/2022/08/the-apple-credit-card-provided-throu… By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: August 10, 2022 ~ David Solomon, Chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs David Solomon, Chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs On August 4, Goldman Sachs provided the following disclosure when it filed its quarterly report (10-Q) with the Securities and Exchange Commission: “The firm is cooperating with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in connection with an investigation of GS Bank USA’s credit card account management practices, including with respect to the application of refunds, crediting of nonconforming payments, billing error resolution, advertisements, and reporting to credit bureaus.” That bland statement doesn’t really do justice to the hundreds of complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) by consumers using the Apple credit card that is provided by Goldman Sachs. The Apple credit card holders are alleging being put through a living hell by Goldman Sachs when fraudulent charges are made on their Apple credit card and a host of other problems. In typical Goldman Sachs style, it has managed to earn the hostility of everyday consumers, airline pilots, and even a police officer with its handling of credit card complaints. Unfortunately for Apple, its name and reputation are being taking along for the ride – which raises the question, what marketing zombie at Apple didn’t see this coming when he decided to entangle Apple’s brand with “a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money,” as Matt Taibbi famously described Goldman Sachs at Rolling Stone. The complaints at the CFPB aren’t helping the J.D. Power brand either. J.D. Power had announced in August of 2021 that the Apple credit card provided through Goldman Sachs had ranked number one in customer satisfaction in the midsize credit card segment. Goldman Sachs’ Chairman of Consumer Business, Harit Talwar, had gushed as follows about the award: “Nothing energizes us more than the affirmation that we are providing a simple, transparent product that delivers value and that customers love. Creating this experience with Apple has been incredibly rewarding, and we are committed to continuing to deliver best-in-class service to our customers. It takes a village, and I am grateful to my colleagues at Goldman Sachs, the teams at Apple, and all of our partners who have helped us be No. 1 in customer satisfaction in the U.S. credit card industry.” But in the very same month of August 2021, as Goldman was celebrating its J.D. Power award, egregious complaints were being filed with the CFPB. Here’s a sampling: (the redacted information has been done by the CFPB; typos are in the original): A customer in California wrote this: “This problem has been ongoing since XXXX, I have had to open multiple disputes through Apple credit card (goldman Sachs) and every time I open disputes, they ALWAYS favor the merchant ( XXXX ) There were multiple unauthorized purchases on my card through XXXX, XXXX helped with most of them besides one order that was {$1400.00}. My credit card issuer Goldman Sachs is saying that the dispute keeps favoring them no matter what evidence I give them. I really want to sue or something, I have no idea what to do now…” (Read the full complaint here.) A customer in Massachusetts told the CFPB this: “My 11 year old computer died and I went online to apple.com to buy a replacement one. Their site advertises that you can get an Apple credit card with 0 % APR for the first 12 months and pay off the computer. When I tried to redeem that offer, their Goldman Sachs website came back and extended a {$2500.00} credit limit, which does not cover the cost of a computer on their site. I called in to get the limit increased to {$3200.00} because I make {$320000.00} a year and have a XXXX credit rating. When I called in, their representative told me the only way to request a credit limit increase to cover the cost of the computer was to accept the credit card offer and open an account. So I did. He told me the next day I had to call back to request a credit increase. There was no other way to get an increase on the application. I have just done that, and despite making a high salary, having zero credit debt and having an excellent credit score, Goldman Sachs / Apple has denied the application and not giving me a reason…” (Read the full complaint here.) A resident of Virginia wrote this: “On XX/XX/21, an unknown charge for {$840.00} was Pending on my Apple Card (Goldman Sachs), I submitted a dispute the same day and was told that, because the charge was still ‘pending’, they would monitor the charge and if the charge posted, the dispute process would start with no further action from me. If the charge did not post, it would just drop off of my account. Since then, I have made dozens of calls and chat sessions with Apple Card Support about this charge that posted to my account on XX/XX/21. On this date, I received a ‘provisional credit’ and exactly one minute later, the provisional credit was reversed. After many phone calls, I finally learned that the dispute that I repeatedly called about had been ruled in the merchant ‘s favor because, they stated, I ‘withdrew my dispute’ — this is a complete falsehood…” (Read the full complaint here.) The Apple credit card via Goldman Sachs was only launched three years ago in August of 2019. Goldman wrote the following at the time: “Goldman Sachs is the issuer of the card and is responsible for underwriting, customer service, the underlying platform and all matters related to regulatory compliance through Goldman Sachs Bank USA.” For the credit card to have generated hundreds of complaints in such a short span of time is remarkable and is apparently why Goldman Sachs is now being investigated by the CFPB. Consider that only a small percentage of Americans are aware that they can file a complaint with the CFPB to seek resolution, and fewer still know where to go on the internet to do that. If hundreds of Americans have filed a complaint, it is highly likely that there are actually thousands of complaints that have not been filed. The CFPB knows that from experience. It’s possible that the folks at Apple are unfamiliar with the century of abuses to customers by Goldman Sachs. Key milestones include the Goldman Sachs Trading Company’s conduct in the asset bubble of 1928. The Trading Company was a closed end fund (called a trust in those days) that Goldman Sachs created and offered to the public at $104 a share, stuffed with conflicted investments while paying Goldman a hefty management fee, only to end up a few years after the 1929 stock market crash trading at a little more than a dollar. Then there were the 2010 Senate hearings where Goldman Sachs was shown to have been allowing hedge fund titan, John Paulson, to pick subprime debt likely to fail for one of Goldman’s securitized deals. Goldman sold the product to its customers as a good investment. Paulson made approximately $1 billion shorting the deal while those on the other side of the trade lost about $1 billion, while never being advised of the hedge fund manager’s role. According to the late U.S. Senator Carl Levin, Goldman was itself shorting (betting on subprime derivative products to fail) while actively promoting these products to clients. Comedian Jon Stewart started calling Goldman Sachs “those f*!*!ing guys” during this period. Equally notable was the 2012 incident when Greg Smith, a VP at Goldman, tendered his resignation after 12 years with the firm on the OpEd pages of the New York Times. Smith lamented on “how callously people talk about ripping their clients off. Over the last 12 months I have seen five different managing directors refer to their own clients as ‘muppets,’ ” Smith wrote. The “muppets” characterization instantly went viral with comedic internet memes, like this catchy musical video written by former Wall Street veteran and law professor Frank Partnoy. More recently, Goldman Sachs has upped its game to criminal felony charges leveled by the U.S. Department of Justice in the 1MDB bribery case. The Justice Department released this statement on October 22, 2020 in conjunction with bringing the charges against Goldman Sachs: “Over a period of five years, Goldman Sachs participated in a sweeping international corruption scheme, conspiring to avail itself of more than $1.6 billion in bribes to multiple high-level government officials across several countries so that the company could reap hundreds of millions of dollars in fees, all to the detriment of the people of Malaysia and the reputation of American financial institutions operating abroad. Today’s resolution, which includes a criminal guilty plea by Goldman Sachs’ subsidiary in Malaysia, demonstrates that the department will hold accountable any institution that violates U.S. law anywhere in the world by unfairly tilting the scales through corrupt practices.” The message here is simple, if you’re a company with a good reputation, you need to do a proper and thorough amount of due diligence before you align your name and reputation with another company. FacebookTwitterWhatsAppLinkedInEmail

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Re: FOIL request
by Gunnar Larson 24 Jan '23

24 Jan '23

Dear Mr. Lombardi: Thank you very much for your email. Gunnar Gunnar Larson xNY.io - Bank.org 646-454-9107 ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: dob.sm.foil <foil(a)budget.ny.gov> Date: Tue, Jan 24, 2023, 4:27 PM Subject: FOIL request To: G(a)xny.io <G(a)xny.io> Please see the attached related to your FOIL request. KATHY HOCHUL Governor SANDRA BEAmE Division of the Budget Acting Director of the Budget Via Electronic Mail January 24, 2023 Mr. Gunnar Larson G(a)xny.io Dear Mr. Larson: This is in response to your Freedom of Information Law ("FOIL") request to the New York State Division of the Budget (the "Division") dated January 14, 2023 in which you seek: "any and all records concerning New York State's investigation of Coinbase, comprising the $100M settlement mentioned here: https://www.dfs.ny.gov/reports_and_pub1ications/press_releases/pr202301041. We are requesting all public records from 2018 to 2022 concerning New York's aforementioned Coinbase investigation. Moreover, xNY.io - Bank.org seeks access to any and all records concerning New York's regulatory scrutiny (and/or approval) of Goldman Sachs' partnership with Coinbase, issuing the bank's first Bitcoin loan mentioned here: https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/goldman-sachs-partners-with-coinbase-for-ba… bitcoin-backed-loan. In addition, xNY.io - Bank.org seeks any and all records concerning New York's approach to Coinbase and Goldman Sachs compliance programs mandated by the United States Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section and Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section mentioned here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Yx88RMoeLyyfbNK0RtP14r- m8N21_ 1 Sp/view?usp=drivesdk. Finally, xNY.io - Bank.org seeks records concerning New York's regulatory approval of Coinbase engaging a fine of $SOM to implement heightened controls and additional procedures and policies relating to electronic surveillance and investigation, due diligence on transactions or clients and the use of third-party intermediaries across business units; and enhancing anti-corruption training for all management and relevant employees." With regard to the first, second and fourth portions of your request, the Division does not possess records responsive as of January 14, 2023 With regard to the portion of your request, which is as follows: "any and all records concerning New York's approach to Coinbase and Goldman Sachs compliance programs mandated by the United States Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Fraud Section and Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section", the Division has determined that this portion of your request is overly broad and is not reasonably described, pursuant to Public Officer's Law ("POL") Section 89(3)(a). If you do not submit a revision to this portion of your request by January 30, 2023, the Division will consider this portion of your request withdrawn. ;�y :��ti Joel C. Lombardi FOIL Officer

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First FEX clamed
by professor rat 24 Jan '23

24 Jan '23

enclavemarkets · Jan 17 The industry needs more innovation than simply iterating through the alphabet -- we need safe and secure platforms. This is why we built the first Fully Encrypted Exchange (FEX). Decentralized custody, confidential execution: http://Enclave.market A note of caution though . . . enclavemarkets · Jan 20 We agree @matthew_d_green ! At @EnclaveMarkets we use SGX enclaves to cryptographically verify the integrity of our codebase and to keep client funds secure Quote Tweet Matthew Green @matthew_d_green · Jan 18 I just want to say that trusted hardware (“Secure Enclaves”) is succeeding to a degree I did not think possible ten years ago. Show this thread I'm so old I remember a lot of trusted hardware failures in my first marriage

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Depressive loser ’ Futurist " Jameson Lopp just sucked up to the known statist, Peter McCormack.
by professor rat 24 Jan '23

24 Jan '23

WhatBitcoinDid · 3h “Nostr was invented by a Lighting developer…if we can get to a point where we really have these decentralised peer-to-peer networks…this is getting us towards more of the anarcho-capitalistic cyberpunk future that I’ve been trying to build for a decade.” @lopp WBD609 Reposts not evidence of capital offences

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ADAM Back as Nazbol Turd
by professor rat 24 Jan '23

24 Jan '23

Perhaps a consensus might form that regards Adam as representing the worst of suitworld and the worst of Maxi. So long as he supports Camp Assange he remains a Nazbol. If Austro-Libertarianism is a ’ Marxism of the Right " as described by some conservatives then Adam Back’s status represents a classic case of ’ Doublethink ". " . . . Back is a respected figure in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry . . . ’ That should put him in good with the Maxi’s https://cointelegraph.com/news/7-people-who-could-be-bitcoin-creator-satosh… Reposts not Bitcoin not Crypto

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Happy United Nations Education Day!
by Gunnar Larson 24 Jan '23

24 Jan '23

https://www.instagram.com/p/CnzWB0NMCrV/?igshid=NjcyZGVjMzk= Gunnar

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Cryptocurrency: Miners to Build New Clean Safe Nuclear Power Plants Soon, Solar, Geothermal, Etc
by grarpamp 24 Jan '23

24 Jan '23

Nuclear-Powered Crypto-Mining To Begin In Pennsylvania Next Year Amid the heated debate over Bitcoin's environmental impact in the mining space, nuclear power could be the perfect renewable energy source to power mining operations. It's no secret that bitcoin mining takes a massive amount of electricity. It's estimated that energy consumption exceeds the power consumption of countries like the Netherlands and the UAE. With the push towards ESG-Friendly bitcoin mining operations, US power company Talen Energy has been given the green light to mine cryptocurrencies using nuclear power from Susquehanna Steam Electric Station based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, according to Datacenter Dynamics. A spokesperson for Talen said Cumulus, a subsidiary of Talen Energy, has two separate businesses: Cumulus Data, focused on hyperscale data center; and Cumulus Coin, focused on digital currency mining. "As the demand for energy increases among data center and cryptocurrency processing clients, so does the call for decarbonizing these energy sources. Talen Energy is constructing a hyperscale data center campus adjacent to its Susquehanna nuclear generation facility," read a company presentation. "It will provide low-cost, reliable, carbon-free power to the data center clients on campus. This allows clients to benefit from carbon-free, 24/7 power being supplied directly to the campus, without the intermittency that renewable energy can experience, or requiring fossil fuels." Here's the layout of the nuclear-powered cryptomining facility adjacent to the power plant. The mining facility could be open as early as the first half of 2022. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been at the forefront of pushing mining operations into using "renewable energy" instead of fossil fuels. The issue behind crypto space is that computational power available to mine requires an enormous amount of energy. Days ago, a historic hydroelectric plant near Albany, New York, decided to begin cryptomining than selling its power to the grid because it could make more money. El Salvador has pitched miners of the world to flood the Central American country to embrace "cheap 100% clean, 100% renewable, 0 emissions" energy from a state-owned geothermal electric company that is powered by a volcano. The "greening" of Bitcoin also comes amid China's crackdown on miners, resulting in the hash rate —the computational power available to mine the cryptocurrency, reflecting the efficiency of the bitcoin blockchain network, plunging since mid-May. Nuclear-powered cryptomining could be the top "ESG-friendly" energy source that the crypto community and tech billionaires have been searching for. This could be a positive for uranium stocks.

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Cryptocurrency: CT Fools Cheer IMF's Anarcho-Coin Regulatory Shutdown Scheme
by grarpamp 24 Jan '23

24 Jan '23

https://cryptopotato.com/imf-recommends-5-point-crypto-regulation-scheme/ "core financial system... concerns about systemic risk and financial stability" 1) License, register, and authorize crypto asset providers. 3) Apply strong, bank-type regulation to stablecoin issuers. 4) Impose clear requirements on traditional financial institutions for exposure or engagement with crypto. 5) Create a consistent global approach to crypto regulation and oversight. Why can't CT read between the loopholed lines of Globo IMF's real intent and self-granted scheme to shutdown Anarcho-Coins and to launch and entrench CBDC's over everyone. Regulators pose a "systemic risk" to the growing "financial stability" of the Anarcho-Coin ecosystem. Until these regulators correctly separate the definition of GovCorpCBDC Shitcoins, from Anarcho-Coins, you can bet that anytime they use words like "regulation", their intent is ultimately to shutdown all Anarcho-Coins. Given that Anarcho-Coins and P2P-Fi marketplaces are now becoming direct competitors and threats to the IMF, is it not obvious what their words mean in reality... 1) Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Monero, Zcash, and a hundred more newer legit non-Incorporated, P2P created, distributed, private, Anarcho-Cryptocurrencies are "providers of crypto assets", as are their miners, stakers, relayers, user barterers, etc. 3) Anarcho-Stablecoins exist. 4) That means being prohibited from doing business with all Anarcho-Coins. 5) That means you're all Instantly Fucked, Globally, Digitally, by whatever the next Tyrannical Rules are rolled out. IMF Recommends 5-Point Crypto Regulation Scheme Author: Wesley Messamore Last Updated Jan 23, 2023 @ 14:56 The International Monetary Fund issued a five-point cryptocurrency recommendation scheme. As global influencers rubbed elbows at Davos, the IMF issued recommendations for crypto to global regulators. Depending on who you ask, crypto regulation could hurt the industry or open up vast new markets for normie investors. In a note published over the week, the International Monetary Fund wrote: "During times of stress, we’ve seen market failures of stablecoins, crypto-focused hedge funds, and crypto exchanges, which in turn raised serious concerns about market integrity and user protection. And with growing and deeper links with the core financial system, there could also be concerns about systemic risk and financial stability in the near future." The IMF's preferred approach to counter these concerns is increasing global crypto regulation: "Many of these concerns can be addressed by strengthening financial regulation and supervision, and by developing global standards that can be implemented consistently by national regulatory authorities." The recommendations are: 1) License, register, and authorize crypto asset providers. 2) Prohibit crypto entities from carrying out multiple functions in one business that create conflicts of interest. 3) Apply strong, bank-type regulation to stablecoin issuers. 4) Impose clear requirements on traditional financial institutions for exposure or engagement with crypto. 5) Create a consistent global approach to crypto regulation and oversight. Posing a Threat? While it seems unlikely that the entire world could agree on crypto regulations, the possibility of a global regulatory regime seems stifling. After all, Bitcoin was invented in the first place to side-step the global financial system. In the view of Bitcoin's creators and earliest adopters, it was the global financial system that was the contagion with spillover risk. Regulations did nothing to stop a financial downturn much bigger than the crypto winter from shocking global markets in 2008. In fact, it's even possible that financial regulations are what led to the 2008 financial crisis. The central bank's regulation of the money supply was dovish in the years leading up to that. This encouraged rampant speculation in exotic instruments with borrowed money at low-interest rates. For Better or Worse? As the money velocity of the economy churned and revalued each dollar according to the constantly growing new supply of USD, the same thing happened to Wall Street that happened to Alameda-FTX. They were holding on to all these assets that weren't really worth what they said on paper. A global regulatory regime with inflexible, one-size-fits-all rules put together by committees could easily squash a project as important as Bitcoin before it has a chance to get started. Or perhaps just as easily inspire one and cede control to an ecosystem of peer-to-peer network governance cobbled together ad hoc by developers, entrepreneurs, and the markets they serve.

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